Faithful readers of this column may recall that North America is experiencing a decade-long surge in the popularity of craft beer, as the unwashed masses throw off the shackles of the tasteless megabrews in search of more flavourful tipples with which to slake their thirst.
This fact has not been lost on the oligarchs running the megabreweries, who grew fat and happy off the boozing public suckling from their glass teats with no significant competition.
Loving the filthy lucre as they do, some of the megabreweries are venturing out from their bland and inoffensive flavour profiles in hopes of clawing back market share lost to the consumers with more refined palates.
Alexander Keith’s, better known to the transplanted maritimers in the audience as the Pride of Nova Scotia, is making just such a foray into the craft beer segment of the market with their new Hop Series.
As a reminder to the novice beer drinkers in the audience, your favourite beverage is made from water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. Hops are a flowering vine that grow wild in many parts of the world, and are used as a bittering agent and preservative in beer, as well as providing much of the aroma and flavour.
Unlike most beers, which are brewed with a several different brands of hops, The Hop Series will be a range of brews made with only a single variety of hops. By producing several different beers, each with a single hop variety, the fine folks at Alexander Keith’s are providing a way to educate the boozing public on the flavour profiles of different types of hops.
This is quite a unique experiment, as Keith’s tries to attract new customers from the macrobrew segment of the market from their competitors, but somehow be mindful to avoid cannibalizing sales of their own mainstream brands.
As a dyed-in-the-wool beer snob, your intrepid liquor reporter tries to avoid brands from the megabreweries on general principles, but I will grudgingly admit that after sampling both of the brews from the Hop Series, I would certainly not turn down a refill.
The first brew in the Hop Series is the Cascade Hop Ale. As the name suggests, this is an ale made with the Cascade hop varietal, named after the Cascade mountain range that runs through the state of Oregon.
The Cascade hop varietal is native to Oregon, and is a fairly mild hop with a spicy citrus-like flavouring that contains hints of grapefruit. While some hop varietals are good for adding either bittering or aromatics to a beer, the Cascade hop does a fairly good job of both, making it a good choice for a single-hopped beer.
The Cascade Hop Ale won’t convert any of the hophead beer nerds who prefer extremely bitter beers, but it is flavourful enough to be appreciated, while not scaring off the beer novices who survive on a diet of Coors Lite.
The next brew in the Hop Series is the Hallertau Hop Ale. Unlike other beers made from corn or rice, this one is made with 100% malted barley, and the Hallertau hop varietal from Germany.
Interestingly, this beer is an ale, while the Hallertau hop varietal has traditionally been used for brewing lagers, which are much more common in Germany.
Unlike the Cascade hop, the Hallertau hop is much more suited for adding aromatics to the brew, but adds very little bitterness.
The beer itself has a spicy and herbal aroma, but the flavour is full and hearty from the malted barley, with only a slight bitterness imparted from the Hallertau hops.
These are the first two brews in the Hop Series from Alexander Keith’s, and only time and the enthusiasm of the tippling public will tell if there will be new additions in the future.
To help do your part for broadening the beer horizons of the general public, you can find these brews available in a mixed 6-pack in local well-stocked liquor stores.
For those who prefer their new beer experiences to be more interactive, the Keith’s beer reps will be crisscrossing the country in April and May for mobile taste tests in restaurants, bars, and liquor stores near you, so keep your eyes open for tub tarts in tight Keith’s t-shirts, and you might just get a free sample.
